Netflix picks up US rights to Eurovision
The streaming giant confirms it will air the 2019 and 2020 broadcasts of the cult song contest on demand.
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Croatia's entry to the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.
Time to bust out the eye glitter -- Netflix has snagged the rights to one of the world's longest-running live TV events, confirming that it will air the 2019 and 2020 Eurovision Song Contest broadcasts in the US. While Netflix will not air the competition live, it's a big win for US fans who were left without an official channel to watch the contest this year.
It also marks an interesting shift into event television for the company, which has long stuck to movies, TV series and its own original produced content. While Netflix won't air the broadcasts live, picking up a live show that draws as many as 200 million viewers around the world could herald a bigger shift for the streaming company.
Eurovision: the contest that spawned a thousand Epic Sax Guy memes.
Under the deal, Netflix picks up the US video-on-demand rights to the two Eurovision semifinals and the grand final. All three broadcasts from the 2019 contest will land on Netflix on Monday, July 22. Netflix will also air the semifinals and grand final in 2020, after the live broadcast, though it has not confirmed dates.
If you haven't heard of Eurovision, you're officially missing one of the greatest (and kitschiest) television events in the world. The song contest catapulted Celine Dion and ABBA to stardom, brought the world Volare (the Italian-chorus classic made famous by Dean Martin) and regularly serves up everything from ear-worm pop bangers, to death-metal demons and singing grandmas.
